Aspects of Love (musical)
Aspects of Love is a musical based on David Garnett's novella of the same name. Cast *Ann Crumb - Rose Vibert *Michael Ball - Alex Dillingham *Kevin Colson - George Dillingham *Kathleen Rowe McAllen - Giulietta Trapani *Diana Morrison - Jenny Dillingham *Laurel Ford - Elizabeth *David Greer - Hugo Le Menieur Plot At a train station in Pau, France in 1964, 34-year-old Alex Dillingham reflects on his love life over the past 17 years. A woman (Giulietta Trapani) replies to him that "it's all in the past." Flashing to 1947, Rose Vibert, a 25-year-old actress, complains that their show is a flop. The producer, Marcel, tries to placate Rose by introducing her to a fan, 17-year-old Alex. Alex and Rose have a brief tryst at his uncle George's villa in Pau. George Dillingham, in Paris with his mistress, Giulietta Trapani, an Italian sculptor, returns to his villa see for himself what Alex and Rose are doing. Rose is attracted to George, who is overcome when he sees Rose dressed in a gown belonging to his beloved late wife, Delia, also an actress, and remarks how much Rose resembles Delia. He advises Alex that all good things have to end, and that his interlude with Rose will be a memory. Alex insists that his relationship with Rose is real love. George leaves, and Rose leaves to rejoin Marcel. Alex realizes that Rose had never taken him seriously. Two years later, Alex, now a soldier, visits his uncle in Paris, and is shocked to find that Rose is now George's mistress. He accuses her of chasing his uncle's money, but Rose protests that she really loves George. She admits that she did love Alex once, and the two, drawn to each other again, fall into bed. The next morning, an agitated Rose tells Alex to leave before George returns. Alex, enraged, pulls out his gun. Rose throws a candlestick at Alex, and the gun goes off, shooting Rose in the arm, and she faints. After George arrives, he and Alex each try to convince the other that he is the right man for Rose. George wins the debate, insisting that Alex should begin a new life with Rose, and Alex finally agrees. George then heads to Venice to see his former mistress, Giulietta. However, Rose orders Alex to leave, having chosen to stay with George. Alex leaves, and Rose and Marcel follow George to Venice. Rose intends to confront Giulietta and reclaim George. In Venice, Giulietta and Rose bond while discussing George's foibles. They both express surprise that the other woman is not at all what they'd imagined. George returns and says that he has lost most of his money. Rose then asks George to marry her and he agrees. At the wedding, Giulietta shocks everyone by claiming her best man's rights and kissing Rose on the mouth. George, however, is delighted. Twelve years later at a theatre in Paris, Rose has risen to stardom and has a young lover, Hugo. Marcel and the rest of the cast celebrate the latest hit, but Rose insists that she must return to the villa at Pau and to her husband George and their 12-year-old daughter, Jenny. Marcel reintroduces her to the 32-year-old Alex. Rose is delighted and insists that he come with her to Pau. At the villa, Jenny is excited by the prospect of her mother's return. George is happy to see Alex, returning with Rose, and Jenny, who has heard much about him, meets him for the first time. Rose and George insist that Alex should stay with them. Meanwhile, in Venice, George's former mistress, Giulietta, ponders the meaning of stable, long-lasting love versus romantic infatuation. Two years later, Alex suggests that Jenny needs a Paris education, which upsets Rose, who suspects that her daughter has developed an unhealthy crush on Alex. That evening Jenny appears wearing the gown of George's first wife, and George happily dances with his daughter. Jenny tries to draw Alex into the dance, but Alex politely refuses. Later, Jenny and Alex are left alone, and Jenny finally convinces Alex to give her the last dance. Rose catches Jenny clasping Alex in a very adult fashion, and Alex leaves. Jenny tells her mother that Alex is the first to make her feel like a woman. Rose confronts Alex, who admits to having feelings for Jenny, but insists that he would never harm her. Later, Jenny tells Alex that she loves him. She begs him to be honest, then kisses him. George plans his wake, insisting that there should be dancing and fun. Rose tells him that he's bound to outlive them all. At a circus in Paris, George, Rose, Alex, and Jenny are celebrating Jenny's fifteenth birthday. George becomes agitated as he watches Jenny talking with Alex. Later, Alex puts Jenny to bed. Jenny tries to convince him that she's really in love with him, but Alex insists that they're just cousins. Jenny falls asleep, and Alex reflects that he knows he must not love her, but cannot help loving her. George overhears Alex and is enraged, suspecting the worst. He collapses, and Alex comes out of Jenny's room to find him dead. At George's wake, Giulietta gives a eulogy celebrating George's unconventionality and his belief in living life to the fullest. Giulietta and Alex join in the dancing and are attracted to each other. Jenny spies on them, while Marcel tries to comfort the grieving Rose. Giulietta and Alex awaken in a hayloft, and Alex wonders how to end his relationship kindly with Jenny. Later, Alex tries to explain to Jenny that their relationship was unnatural. She reminds him that he was only seventeen when he met Rose, and that she is no younger than Shakespeare's Juliet. Rose bids Alex farewell, but then she breaks down and begs Alex not to leave her. Alex, unsure of how to reply, leaves. At the train station at Pau, as Alex and Giulietta wait for the train, Giulietta wonders what will happen in a few years, when Jenny becomes a woman. Alex, unable to reply, reflects once more on how love changes everything. Musical numbers ;Act I *"Love Changes Everything" - Alex *"The toast of the town, the hit of year" - Rose, Marcel, actress, Alex *"Parlez-vous Français?" - Crooner, Alex, Rose, Marcel, Waiter and Actors *"That girl can really act" - Alex and Rose *"Seeing is Believing" - Alex and Rose *"Wish my arms were longer, or the gap was wider" - Alex and Rose *"Damn the boy!" - George and Giulietta *"A Memory of a Happy Moment" - Giulietta and George *"This is what I ought to feel onstage" - Rose and Alex *"You must forgive my rude intrusion" - George, Alex and Rose *"What was that? Listen" - Rose and Alex *"Chanson d'Enfance" - Rose and Alex *"Marcel wants me in Lyon" - Rose and Alex *"Everybody Loves a Hero" - Harkers and Ensemble *"How you've grown" - Elizabeth, Alex and Rose *"She'd Be Far Better Off with You" - George and Alex *"Stop. Wait. Please" - George, Giulietta and Rose *"I now pronounce you man and wife" - Priest, Friends, George, Rose and Giulietta *"News takes time to reach us here" - Alex ;Act II *"A theatre in Paris" - Marcel, Rose, actress and Hugo *"Leading Lady" - Marcel, Rose, Alex and Hugo *"Have I changed?" - Rose and Alex *"I think by now I'm old enough to put myself to bed" - Jenny & George *"Other Pleasures" - George, Jenny, Rose, Alex *"Big surprise I can't be with you this weekend" - Giulietta *"There is More to Love" - Giulietta *"I trust you're staying for the vynship" - George, Jenny, Rose and Alex *"Mermaid Song" - Jenny, Alex and George *"Say the word. Say it now. Nice and loud." - Jenny, Alex and Rose *"What could be sweeter? Nothing is sweeter" - George, Hugo, Alex, Rose and Jenny *"The First Man You Remember" - George, Jenny & Alex *"Now that's what I call a wall" - George, Rose, Alex, Jenny, Hugo and Workmen *"Up in the Pyrenees" -Jenny and Alex *"My finest vintage champagne" - George and Rose *"Journey of a Lifetime" - Chanteuse, Ensemble, George, Rose, Alex and Jenny *"Falling" - Alex, Jenny, Rose and George *"Come on Jenny that's enough now" - Alex, Jenny, George, Rose and Hugo *"Hand Me the Wine and the Dice" - Giulietta, Chorus, Alex, Jenny, Rose, Hugo and Marcel *"What was that? Listen" - Giulietta and Alex *"Jenny this is just as hard for me" - Alex, Jenny and Rose *"Anything But Lonely" - Rose *"It won't be long till Jenny's a woman" - Giulietta & Alex Category:Stage musicals